Two weeks of pro golf begins with Players

For those who love golf events, there is no better place to be for the next two weeks than St. Johns County.

With The Players Championship, Shell's Wonderful World of Golf and The Legends of Golf -- the biggest names ever in the sport -- all in a 14-day period, it just doesn't get any better than this.

Nothing is bigger than Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus squaring off at the World Golf Village on The King and The Bear, the only course that the two of them have designed together. These two champions are more than worth their weight in trophies and majors. As if that weren't enough, Gary Player will be on hand to do the commentary. Together these men comprised The Big Three in the 1960s and 1970s. To the casual fan, they were professional golf.

In fact, this event is so big that according to Jim Walton Jr., producer for the Shell's Wonderful World of Golf series, the television program is being extended an additional half hour to show more golf and to have comments from Palmer and Nicklaus about the course.

But before the Shell match gets started, the best players from all over the world will circle their private jets over Ponte Vedra Beach for The Players Championship. Many may be using the St. Augustine airport as jet HQ.

The Players Championship has grown in stature over the years to the point where the players from both sides of the ocean consider it on the same level as the majors. It has the best field all year on an impossible golf course, set up to greatest degree of difficulty to test the skill and mental stamina of those who try to conquer it.

Typically, the course produces winners who hold major titles. Davis Love III, Steve Elkington, Nick Price, Fred Couples, Justin Leonard, Lee Janzen, Greg Norman, Hal Sutton and even Jack Nicklaus are among the list of past champions. Last year, in a memorable duel, Tiger Woods tried in vain to overtake veteran Hal Sutton. It was as high drama as one can find on a golf course.

Then, the icing on the cake comes with the Legends of Golf, where some of the greatest players in the game pair up to try to defeat their arch rivals on the course.

The tradition of the Legends is even more significant because it was the start of the PGA Senior Tour. This year, Palmer and Nicklaus will pair up to take on past champions like Lee Trevino and Mike Hill, and present day Senior heros like Gil Morgan and Hubert Green and Jim Colbert and Andy North.

In a great move for fan interest, tickets for the Players Championship will also be good for Shell's Wonderful World of Golf and the Legends of Golf. For fans of the professional game, it will be 14 magnificent days of golf enjoyment.